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Ukraine Steps Up Use of U.S. Rocket System; Brittney Griner's Wife Describes Challenges of Russian Detention; Violence against Chinese Women; U.S. Abortion Ruling; Record Travel Expected for July 4 Weekend; White House Announces Congressional Medal of Freedom Recipients. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired July 02, 2022 - 03:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello, welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. Appreciate you your company.

Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, Ukraine's latest military aid from the U.S. seems to be paying off. But Russia's invasion only appears to be getting worse.

Plus, American basketball star Brittany Griner's trial begins near Moscow. What's next for her case and what her family is saying.

And across the U.S., more than a dozen states in the middle of legal battles over a abortion bans. And now some states are bracing for an influx of patients across state lines.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Michael Holmes.

HOLMES: We begin in Ukraine, where a U.S.-supplied advanced weapon is reportedly starting to gain traction on the battlefield. A senior U.S. Defense official says Ukraine has used the HIMARS multiple rocket launchers to take out Russian command posts and other targets.

At least four of those systems are already in Ukraine, four more are on the way. Meanwhile, President Zelenskyy accusing Russia of terrorism following Friday's missile strikes on a residential area near Odessa.

At least 21 people were killed, 40 others wounded. Mr. Zelenskyy also says no one should buy Russia's usual spin on attacks like this one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Three missiles hit an ordinary residential building, a nine-story building in which no one hid weapons, military equipment or ammunition, as Russian propagandists and officials always tell about such strikes.

I emphasize, this is a deliberate, purposeful Russian terror, not some mistake or an accidental missile strike.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Meanwhile U.S. officials say Russia may face more attacks from behind the front lines. They say three recent assassination attempts against pro-Russian officials in Kherson, including one that was successful, suggests a growing resistance movement in the south.

U.S. officials believe acts like that could eventually lead to a bigger insurgency movement.

Ukraine says the Odessa strikes included powerful missiles designed to hit aircraft carriers at sea. They tore through a residential building, a community center and a children's rehabilitation center. Rescuers didn't have much hope that they would even find survivors.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rescue workers on the site of these missile strikes, they started looking at the blast sites for survivors but, frankly, they didn't expect to find any.

President Zelenskyy says the type of missile used here is actually the same variety of missile used against that mall in Kremenchuk earlier this week with extremely deadly consequences.

It's an older variety, not quite as accurate as newer models. It's also big enough to be used to attack a military ship. It's certainly not meant for these kinds of civilian sites and nine-story apartment building or a summer camp in this case.

They have been used on again with very deadly consequences, including one 12-year-old boy who has been killed. President Zelenskyy called Russia a terror state in response to this.

The foreign minister said that Russia was waging a war against the civilian population. We have seen this over and over again. So the Ukrainians have long been calling for help with their air defense system.

And it appears tonight that they're getting some help from the United States to be able to beef up their defenses against missiles. The United States sending two surface to air missile systems to Ukraine to help with that system that right -- because right now the Ukrainians are vulnerable to missile strikes anywhere in the country.

They are hoping, now they are in control of Snake Island in the Black Sea, they are hoping that at least the volume of shelling will decrease because the Russians no longer have this launch pad to access an area of Odessa that frankly they have been unable to reach by land so far.

(END VIDEOTAPE) [03:05:00]

HOLMES: We're starting to get an idea of what life is like in Severodonetsk now that it's under Russian control. New video shows the city looking pretty much like a ghost town, with bombed-out buildings and empty streets. Ukrainian troops pulled out last week after months of grueling street battles.

Ukraine officials say 80 percent of homes are destroyed beyond repair. The video shows civilians who stayed in the city, living in heavily damaged apartments. Some of them say they don't have much to look forward to.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELENA IVANOVA, SIEVIERODONETSK RESIDENT (through translator): Comparing to what we went through, you can say it's quiet. You try to live with what you have seen. But as of now it's extremely hard and scary. No water, no light. The nearest future is frightening. No reason for being optimistic yet.

OLGA MELNIK, SIEVIERODONETSK RESIDENT (through translator): The fourth and the third building entrances crumbled down to the basement. We have lived there for four months. It's been 20 days since we moved in here. It's a former fire brigade office. The conditions are slightly better, a bit cleaner.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: As Russia intensifies its military campaign around in Eastern Ukraine, the situation for civilians in Lysychansk grows more dire. It's Ukraine's last bastion in the Luhansk region.

But the city, nearly encircled by Russian forces and subject to relentless military assault, leaving residents little choice but to flee their homes to try to find relative safety.

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NINA BONDAR, LYSYCHANSK EVACUEE (through translator): The city doesn't exist anymore. It has practically been wiped off the face of the Earth. There is no humanitarian aid distribution center. It has been hit. The building which used to house the center doesn't exist anymore, just like many of our houses.

I stayed almost to the last day until they hit the culture center. There were many casualties. I was covered with rubble. People helped dig me up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Russia has started a bus service running from Crimea's second largest city to territories in Eastern Ukraine now under Russian control. The routes run from the Crimean city of Simferopol to the cities of Kherson, Melitopol and Berdyansk in areas that Russia controls. Bus service hasn't run from the peninsula into Eastern Ukraine since

Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

If you would like to safely and securely help people in Ukraine who might be in need of shelter, food and water and so on, go to cnn.com/impact.

The American basketball star Brittney Griner appeared in a courtroom outside Moscow on Friday on drug charges that could result in a sentence of up to 10 years in a Russian prison. Officials with the U.S. embassy in Moscow attended the proceedings and at least one was able to speak with Griner directly. CNN's Brian Todd with more.

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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Wearing a white T-shirt led hastily in to court in handcuffs, Brittney Griner endures the first hearing of her drug smuggling trial in Russia.

The basketball star was read the charges against her, said she understood the charges but otherwise declined to speak. A top U.S. diplomat who spoke to Griner in the courtroom updated reporters.

ELIZABETH ROOD, CHARGE D'AFFAIRES, U.S. EMBASSY IN MOSCOW: She is doing as well as can be expected in these difficult circumstances. And she asked me to convey that she is in good spirits and is keeping up the faith.

TODD (voice-over): The prosecution believes Griner had the intent to import cannabis oil into Russia when she was apprehended at a Moscow airport on February 17th. In court today, prosecutors gave more specifics saying Griner was carrying two cartridges, totaling less than a gram of hash oil.

TOM FIRESTONE, FORMER RESIDENT LEGAL ADVISER, U.S. EMBASSY IN MOSCOW: I think in most cases it wouldn't even be prosecuted in the United States.

TODD (voice-over): But in Russia, it carries a penalty of up to ten years in prison if Griner is convicted. The chances of that --

FIRESTONE: We know 99 percent of criminal trials in Russia end up in convictions. So she will almost certainly be convicted. The question is what kind of sentence is she going to get. And that will be a real indicator of the political motives behind that.

TODD (voice-over): An indication that U.S. officials expect Griner to be treated as a political pawn by Vladimir Putin's regime came in May when the State Department classified as being, quote, "wrongfully detained."

It means her case is being handled by a America's top hostage envoy. There's been talk of a possible trade.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: There has been speculation in the Russian media that they might want. His name is Viktor Bout. TODD: Viktor Bout, nicknamed the merchant of death, a notorious Russian arms dealer. Bout is now serving a long sentence at the U.S. federal penitentiary in Marion, Illinois.

DANIELLE GILBERT, DARTMOUTH COLLEGE: Unfortunately, the only way to often bring Americans home from these kinds of conditions is by making some sort of negotiate swap. And so the Russians have been asking for Viktor Bout's return for a very long time.

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TODD (voice-over): While rumors of a possible deal circulate, new questions over the conditions Griner could be facing in detention.

GILBERT: To be in Russian prison as a 6'9 Black LGBTQ American, those are really difficult conditions to imagine that she has been treated fairly.

TODD: The Kremlin holds so many important cards in this case but is typically projecting a disinterested stance. Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov telling reporters the Griner case is not politically motivated, a statement that many in Washington and outside analysts find laughable -- Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Griner's wife says she has not been able to speak to directly with Brittney during this time but they have been able to exchange letters. She spoke with CNN's Abby Phillip. Here's part of the conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHERELLE GRINER, BRITTNEY'S WIFE: It's really difficult. It's really, really difficult. This is not a situation where the rhetoric is matching the actions. And so I can't just take the fact that this is somebody's job to bring home my wife and go off grid and focus to that degree. I can't do that.

I do have to, you know, unfortunately, also push people to make sure that things that they're telling me are also matching their actions. And so it has been the hardest thing to balance because I can't let up because it's 100 -- it's over 130 days, and BG is still not back.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you trust that the maximum amount of effort is being put forward to bring BG home?

GRINER: No, I don't and I hate to say that because I do trust that they are -- that the persons working on this are very genuine people, that I do believe.

But I don't think the maximum amount of effort is being done because, again, the rhetoric and the actions don't match.

You know, when you have a situation where BG can call our government, the embassy, 11 times and that phone call don't get answered, you don't have my dress (ph) at that point until I see actions that are in BG's best interests.

It would have been in her best interest for her phone calls have been answered, it would be in her best interest for her to be back on U.S. soil. So until I see things like that, no.

PHILLIP: I know that you've had some conversations with the Secretary of State and with other officials, but you want to talk to President Biden, right?

GRINER: Absolutely and the reason why is because I'm used to this. You know? So I don't -- I'm no politician. I just graduated law school. So I can only, you know, I can only do those things that are being told are beneficial for my wife.

And the most beneficial thing that I've been told is that, you know, you meet with President Biden, you know, he has that power. He is a person, you know, that, ultimately will make that decision for BG to come home. And so, while everybody else wants to tell me they care, I would love for him to tell me he cares.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: You can see more of the interview on "INSIDE POLITICS" Sunday, 8:00 am Eastern or 12:00 pm GMT.

Democratic representative Sheila Jackson-Lee represents a part of Texas where Britney Griner grew up and has been in touch with the Griner family. Jackson-Lee told CNN earlier that despite Russian claims to the contrary, she considers Griner's detention to be political.

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REP. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE (D-TX): The small amount of drugs that they say she has is an allegation, we don't know whether it's true or not, and it's a very, very small amount. And in the United States, it would not even be considered any kind of crime.

So we know this is a political detention -- incarceration. I believe that it is political, that she is a pawn and that there is very little chances of her being acquitted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: I spoke earlier with CNN contributor and former CNN Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty about the trial and asked her about the speculation that some sort of prisoner exchange could bring her home.

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DOUGHERTY: Yes, she's a significant person. She is a major sports figure. She's, you know, in the public eye. Interestingly, you know, she was going to Russia to play, which is what happens with some female athletes in basketball in the United States.

But she's really kind of -- you know, she's a significant person. And as to what would happen, yes. I mean, the prime person that you would immediately think that the Russians would want to trade her for would be Viktor Bout.

Back in 2002, I interviewed Viktor Bout in the Moscow bureau.

[03:15:00]

DOUGHERTY: And at that point he was a wanted man. And still to this day he is one of the biggest, you know, convicted arms dealers in the world. At that point he was providing weapons to Latin America, Africa, the Middle East.

And he actually came to the bureau.

And interestingly, I went back to look at that script and he said, "I'm a businessman."

And in the Russian media today he was described as a Russian businessman.

HOLMES: Yes. Certainly, they'd like him back. Maybe that's where this will end up.

In the U.S. the thing is a cannabis offense like hers, I think it was 0.7 grams of cannabis, would be relatively minor.

What would you expect her trial to look like in terms of, dare I say, fairness, her ability to mount a defense?

DOUGHERTY: You know, I think in Russia, the way it is right now, obviously most people who end up in court are convicted. But that said, I think what they would try to do is make it look very legal.

So it depends on what the definition in Russian law is for this offense; albeit, in the United States, that would be very minor. In Russia it could be more important. But I think, you know, when you look at the amount, this is not a drug dealer. This is not a big amount of drugs. If she -- if it is hers indeed, as you said, it's very little.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now a string of earthquakes struck southern Iran on Saturday. The country's semi-official Fars news agency says at least five people were killed. 44 others injured. Iran's Red Crescent Society says emergency teams are conducting rescue operations.

According to authorities 12 villages sustained damage. Many homes in one particular village were totally destroyed.

All over China, people are demanding change after a video of women being beaten goes viral. Details when we come back on the fallout from that and the government response. Stay with us.

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HOLMES: Welcome back.

New fallout from that vicious attack last month on a woman, who refused a man's advances in China. Now the beating set off a firestorm of reaction. CNN's Selina Wang reports now on the stepped-up police response -- and we want to warn you, you might find some images disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This brutal attack on women at a restaurant in northern China last month triggered nationwide rage and despair.

And this is how the government is reacting to the incident in Tangshan City, amassing an army police to crack down on crime, sending brigades of armed police to patrol the streets at night, going into bars, restaurants, outdoor food markets; interrupting groups eating outside with loudspeakers; telling men, "No fighting, no beating, especially of women."

SWAT teams hovering over women without male companions. Women on Chinese social media mocked the excessive show of force.

One wrote, "This is just for show. It doesn't solve any real problems."

Another said, "We don't need immense protection. What we need is a safer and fairer society."

The graphic surveillance video from last month shows a man making an unwanted advance toward a woman. After she pushes him away, the assault escalated to shocking brutality. Multiple men taking kicking and beating the women will bottles and chairs.

This is believed to be an image of one of the two women who was hospitalized after the attack. Authorities claim the two women are still in the hospital, recovering from, quote, "minor injuries," denying rumors that some of the women died.

Police arrested all nine people involved in the attack. Several of them had criminal histories.

The victims of criminal activity in Tangshan seized the moment for the police station. This man says he's 86 years old. He has been waiting in line for hours. This man says it has been seven years since he reported his case but still no progress.

They hope the national attention will pressure police to solve their long-ignored cases. Online, people rushed to do the same, holding up their ID cards to prove the authenticity of their claims and call out the perpetrators' names.

This man says, "Friends on the Internet, please uphold justice for me."

Another woman shared footage of her boyfriend violently attacking her when she was seven months pregnant, pinning her down in an attempt, she says, to kill her baby.

Another says gang members broke into his bakery a year ago. He shows surveillance footage of them destroying his shop. He says criminals have harassed him and his family ever since.

This woman, a bar singer, says, in May, gang members beat her and her colleagues and locked them in a cage for 16 hours.

Police say they are investigating all three of those cases. State media says gangsters and drunken men are to blame for the restaurant attacked, while reports linking the case to sexism or systemic violence against women have been swiftly censored.

LIANG XIAOWEN, CHINESE FEMINIST ACTIVIST: By framing this incident as a single incident that's merely gang violence, the government avoided the problems within their system. This is the tip of the iceberg.

There are so many other incidences that are happening every day. Chinese women are actually demanding a systemic change.

WANG: In recent years, authorities have tried to stamp out feminist voices, seeing them as threats to social stability. As police parade across the country to show they're taking crime seriously, the government squashes (sic) outrage over sexual harassment and gender- based violence -- Selina Wang, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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HOLMES: Now in Sudan, security forces and demonstrators clashing again in the capital, Khartoum. This coming just a day after nine people were shot and killed by the military amid anti coup protests.

CNN's Larry Madowo filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Protesters are back on the streets on Friday, despite reports that at least nine of them were killed on Thursday in protests that mark the ouster of dictator Omar al-Bashir.

On Friday the video appeared to show protesters fleeing plumes of smoke as they made their way to the presidential palace. This is the latest round of protests organized by Sudanese prodemocracy groups.

It goes back to October 25, when the military dissolved the power sharing agreement with civilians and took over. These protesters consider that illegitimate, a coup and they promised to continue protesting until there's a return to civilian rule to true democracy.

The central committee says at least 113 civilians have been killed since that October 25 date. They will continue doing this for as long as is necessary.

Sudan police say, on Thursday, during the protests, at least 96 officers were injured and 129 soldiers because they used tear gas and water cannons to send back the protesters engaging them.

This back and forth has been going on since October. The military appears to be cracking down violently. The protesters keep coming back. They are well organized local resistance committees, a lot of prodemocracy groups that see this as a necessary fight to win back democracy in Sudan -- Larry Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: I'm Michael Holmes. If you are with us in North America, CNN NEWSROOM continues in a moment. I'll see you after the break. For the rest of the world, "AFRICAN VOICES: CHANGEMAKERS" coming up next.

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HOLMES: Welcome back, everyone. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

The battle over abortion rights in the U.S. is heating up. Legal fights underway in more than a dozen states over abortion bans and limits. The latest is in Oklahoma. Provider groups are asking the state's supreme court to block a pre-Roe abortion ban that's over a century old.

They're also asking for an end to a criminal abortion law enacted this year. Earlier this week, West Virginia providers also sued to end the enforcement of a pre-Roe ban in that state.

This coming as President Biden met with Democratic governors on Friday, working to protect access to reproductive health care. He called on Congress to act on abortion rights.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D) PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: But ultimately, Congress is going to have to act to codify the Roe into federal law.

And as I said yesterday, the filibuster should not stand in the way of us being able to do that. For the choice is clear, we either elect federal senators and representatives who will codify Roe where Republicans who elect the House and Senate will try to ban abortions nationwide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And as more states increase abortion restrictions, some women are forced to travel across state lines just to receive care. And that is expected to put a strain on some clinics. CNN's Adrienne Broaddus has that part of the story.

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ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They come by car and by plane to this Bloomington, Minnesota, clinic opened for its access to transportation arteries connecting Minnesota with states banning abortion.

SHARON LAU, MIDWEST ADVOCACY DIRECTOR, WHOLE WOMAN'S HEALTH ALLIANCE: Some patients may fly, some patients may prefer ready to drive and so being near the highways that we are and the airport in Bloomington really gives patients, you know, the most options.

BROADDUS (voice-over): Now Whole Woman's Health is one clinic bracing to treat more patients with I-35 connecting it to three of the states with the most restrictive abortion laws, including Texas and South Dakota right next door.

Planned Parenthood CEO Sarah Stoesz is also bracing for an influx.

SARAH STOESZ, CEO, PLANNED PARENTHOOD NORTH CENTRAL STATES: We expect to see a minimum of 10 to 25 percent more people coming seeking abortion.

BROADDUS: Can you guys handle the increase?

STOESZ: I don't know if we're going to be able to handle the increase. There is already a healthcare worker shortage and we've been struggling with that since the beginning of the pandemic that hasn't gone away.

BROADDUS (voice-over): And that worries Liz Van Heel.

LIZ VAN HEEL, ABORTION RECIPIENT: I actually always thought I'd have two boys.

BROADDUS (voice-over): Who knows the challenges of seeking this type of health care, even before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Six years ago, Van Heel says she and her husband went in for an ultrasound and left devastated.

VAN HEEL: It was Friday the 13th that my doctor told me the news that this baby was incompatible with life. And that's when I decided I wanted an abortion as soon as possible.

BROADDUS (voice-over): Van Heel says her unborn baby had a neural tube defect, meaning her baby's brain didn't fully develop.

VAN HEEL: And that diagnosis meant that I would either miscarry at any time, are the moments after I gave birth to baby with that. I knew that continuing to carry a baby that was not compatible with life was not going to be good for my mental health or my emotional health.

BROADDUS (voice-over): The Minneapolis mother who later had a healthy child is worried women like her will have an even tougher time getting an abortion.

VAN HEEL: That is worrisome. I would be honored to be a resource for anyone that needs it.

BROADDUS (voice-over): Planned Parenthood says it's hearing from people like Van Heel offering to be a resource for those who live far from airports or don't have cars.

STOESZ: Someone reached out to me who owns a small plane and she wants to organize a lot of her friends and others around the country who also have small planes and can land in rural parts of the country and can safely transport women to larger urban centers.

BROADDUS: But even for people with transportation, Planned Parenthood expects appointments will be in short supply.

STOESZ: I do think we'll see more use of abortion pills by mail because appointments are going to be difficult to get.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[03:35:00]

BROADDUS: And Planned Parenthood of Minnesota said on Monday, the first business day after the SCOTUS decision, it received its highest volume of calls ever, up nearly 50 percent, with most of those calls coming from out of state -- Adrienne Broaddus, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: The U.S. Supreme Court term that just ended will go down in history as one of the most divisive and far reaching in decades. There was, of course, the shocking end of Roe v. Wade after a half-century ruling 5-4 abortion is not constitutionally protected after all.

The conservative majority made waves on a number of other legal fronts, including immigration, regarding an end to the Trump era remain in Mexico policy, gun rights in striking down New York state's century-old concealed carry law, climate change in blocking the EPA ability to regulate carbon emissions and the flow-ons coming from that and also religious liberty, ruling in favor of a high school football coach who liked to pray on the field after games.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Joining me now from Los Angeles is CNN senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein.

I want to talk about the court in its totality.

When you look at these recent decisions, what path do you see ahead and is the path a deliberate and ideological one? RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: This may have been the most

conservative and confrontational session of the court since the 1935 session that knocked down much of FDR's New Deal agenda and ultimately led to the attempt to try to expand the court.

Now you see really, for the first time, the full impact and potential future impact of the conservative super majority. The six Republican appointed justices were put on the court by presidents who nominated them, Republican senators confirmed them, who represent the parts of the country that have been least touched by all of the changes remaking America and the 21st century demographically, culturally and economically.

You see them consistently ruling in a way that favors those interests over those of more diverse policy. The ending of the session could not have been more clear. They basically said the red states, they gave the red states a authority to roll back a right that liberals prize, abortion rights, and blocked the blue states from impinging on rights the conservatives prize.

HOLMES: Another one which is concerning potentially could come from the court, deciding that it will hear a case, which could remove the ability of state courts to rule on unfair election rules, so called the independent state legislature doctrine.

What's at stake there on that particular issue?

BROWNSTEIN: This is a staggering case that could truly I think introduce all sorts of uncertainty and centrifugal pressure into the American political system because this is what has been in the past a fringe conservative doctrine.

It basically says the Constitution gives state legislatures untrammeled power to set the rules for federal elections in their states, not -- and in the most extreme version of the theory, not to be second guessed by not only state courts but governors and secretaries of state, boards of elections.

And, of course, in 2019, this Supreme Court ruled that even the most extreme partisan gerrymandering couldn't be reviewed by the court. So you have a situation where Republicans in control of state legislatures in Michigan and Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin, Texas have drawn lines that make it almost impossible for them to lose the majority.

And then you are saying we are now going to give you unfettered power to set the rules over federal elections, perhaps to the point of dismissing a popular vote and replacing the Electoral College votes with their own sets of electors.

HOLMES: Democratic leadership faces a lot of criticism. My son is 22. He and all of his friends criticize this party for playing softball on a raft of issues. They're disappointed to say the least in the party.

How could Democrats still hold the House, Senate and White House, fight these issues and, just as importantly, is leadership willing to switch to hardball to do so?

BROWNSTEIN: Right. What your son is saying reflects I think broad sentiment. I talked to pollsters who used the word despair to describe Democratic voters, who at a moment when the party not only controls the White House, the House, the Senate, the fabled trifecta of American politics, is watching so many things that they prioritize being ground under tank treads from the Right, from the Supreme Court or the red states.

[03:40:00]

BROWNSTEIN: And it's not only all of the rights that are being rolled back in the states, voting, abortion and LGBTQ rights, First Amendment rights of teachers and book bans; it's also the way in which the court has circumscribed the ability of the federal government to act on climate and the existential crisis.

HOLMES: The chief justice John Roberts is long forward to dismiss accusations that the highest court in the land is political, partisan or ideological.

How do those efforts look right now?

BROWNSTEIN: In tatters. The train has left the station. This court is, I think, widely perceived as an ideological partisan court that is essentially, as I have written, the point of the spear for what I call the Republican coalition of restoration.

The Republican coalition is centered on the voters and the places where most are unhappy about the way the country is changing on all of these fronts. And the court has become the principal weapon they have to push back.

People have pointed out that you would not win a national vote or even a legislative vote on many of these decisions. But the court becomes the vehicle to undermine or roll back national rights. The red states move forward through that gap to rescind those rights, abortion or voting or LGBTQ rights.

And then Republicans use the filibuster in the Senate to prevent Democrats from responding. That I think is the root of the despair among Democratic voters as it's clearly an untenable situation going forward for Democratic presidents and legislators.

HOLMES: A Supreme Court with a 25 percent or 26 percent favorability rating.

Ron Brownstein, good to see you. Thank you.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Still to come, airlines expecting what they call operational challenges this holiday weekend. We know what that means for you. We'll have a look at how people are dealing with all the disruption. (MUSIC PLAYING)

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HOLMES: Many in the U.S. looking to get away this 4th of July holiday weekend face a tough decision: either deal with the chaos at airports from staff shortages and increase demand or pay the record high gas prices and hit the road. Our Leyla Santiago has the report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A very busy weekend expected for the holiday, Independence Day weekend here in the U.S. The American Automobile Association expecting record breaking numbers.

Right now according to the forecast, they believe 48, nearly 48 million travelers out there, by plane, by car, by other means. But what's really interesting this year is that the there will be 42 million. That's what they expect for the number of folks that plan to take to the road.

That is an increase over last year. And that's expected to be record breaking. Interesting also because of the soaring gas prices. Today we are looking at $4.84 for a national average.

If you look at a year ago, it was at $3.12. Yet despite the soaring prices, when you talk to folks, they tell you, we want to get away and take the break. We're not happy about the gas prices. But we do what we have to do to try to avoid the disruptions, which industry experts say are because of staffing shortages at the airports.

Listen to what some drivers told me today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Prices are crazy. Fueling just now, you know, it's like $5 for a gallon. It's just crazy. We thought about where to go, what the distance. Like maybe it shouldn't be car.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The two jetskis already cost me about $120. I put at least maybe 40 bucks inside the truck. And the third jetski cost me another $60. So that's already $300 on just fuel.

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SANTIAGO: Again, AAA says about 42 million drivers are expected to hit the road. When it comes to the other travelers, they are expecting 3.5 million to be flying, traveling by plane, and 2.5 million to be traveling by some other means -- Leyla Santiago, CNN, Miami.

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HOLMES: Delta Air Lines says it is expecting the number of passengers to reach prepandemic levels and it's anticipating what it describes as operational challenges. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says airlines need to step up their game.

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PETE BUTTIGIEG, U.S. SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION: Well, let's be very clear: the majority of delays and the majority of cancellations have not been caused by air traffic control staffing issue. The bottom line here is that the airlines that are selling these tickets need to have the crews in the staff to back up those sales.

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HOLMES: For many, the trip was over before it began, with nearly 600 flights canceled on Friday. Others face delays, with over 7,000 flights running behind schedule. And rain could wash out some of the plans that people have made.

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HOLMES: Now there's more to come on CNN, including a look at two world-class athletes set to receive the highest civilian award you can get in the U.S. We'll be right back.

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HOLMES: It is the highest civilian honor one can receive in the U.S. The White House announcing the names of 17 people who will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Among them the Olympian Simone Biles and advocate for victims of sexual abuse in addition, of course, to being the most decorated American gymnast in history. Biles has testified on Capitol Hill.

Now the civil rights icon Diane Nash is among the honorees. She worked closely with Martin Luther King, Jr.

Two time World Cup champion Megan Rapinoe is also on the list. She sees the honor as an affirmation of her activism.

[03:55:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEGAN RAPINOE, TWO-TIME WORLD CUP CHAMPION: I see this as a validation of all of the things that I have stood for, not a validation for me but of LGBTQ_ rights, validation of Black Lives Matter movement and the movement against the white supremacist power structure that we have.

It's a validation of women's rights and of equal pay and of abortion rights and of trans rights and everything that myself (sic) and so many others work so hard for. It's a validation of all of that, that this is the most important thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Awards will also be given posthumously to several others, including Arizona senator John McCain and Apple cofounder Steve Jobs.

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HOLMES: I'm Michael Holmes, thanks for your company today. Do stick around, my colleague Kim Brunhuber will be back with more CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment.